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OIL POLLUTION: PERSISTENCE AND DEGRADATION OF SPILLED FUEL OIL

The report discusses the hydrocarbon which is very slow, especially below the immediate sediment surface. It appears to proceed principally through microbial utilization of alkanes and through partial dissolution of the lower-boiling aromatic hydrocarbons. The boiling range of the spilled oil and the relative abundances of homologous hydrocarbons (for example, phytane and pristane) have been well preserved. The findings are in agreement with the known geochemical stability of hydrocarbons.(Author)